[Nuclear magnetic resonance study of the immature rat brain]

Using rat brains, the maturational change on the water contents and on the proton NMR signals were studied in this laboratory. Water contents, the proton longitudinal relaxation time (T1) and the transverse relaxation time (T2) were measured on the samples from gray and white matters, separately. A constant decrease of these parameter values was observed in relation to the development of the brain. Water content of 1 week-old rat was 88.393 +/- 1.19% in the gray matter (G) and 88.63 +/- 1.96% in the white matter (W). These values decreased gradually and reached adult rat level when the animals became 5 weeks old: 81.47 +/- 1.67% in G and 79.45 +/- 2.39% in W. No marked change on the brain water content was observed thereafter, T1 values of immature (one week-old) rat brain were 1.755 +/- 0.088 sec in G, and 1.832 +/- 0.154 sec in W, while T1 values of the adult rat brain were 1.327 +/- 0.043 sec in G, and 1.297 +/- 0.039 sec in W, respectively. A marked difference was observed on the values of T1 between the immature and the adult rats. T2 value of the 1 week-old rat brain was 101.05 +/- 10.20 msec in G, and 102.75 +/- 8.10 msec in W, respectively. T2 of the mature rat brain was 56.90 +/- 2.61 msec in G, and 54.52 +/- 2.35 msec in W, respectively. A statistically significant correlation was proved between the water content and the proton relaxation time (either T1 and T2).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)